Detergent tray and washing machine having the same

ABSTRACT

A washing machine has a detergent tray. The detergent tray includes a housing, a support bracket affixed a periphery portion of the housing, and a plurality of fastening members configured to affix the support bracket to the cabinet and the drying duct assembly. The detergent tray may have a large capacity for detergent that is adequate for multiple uses.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority from Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2016-0017544, filed on Feb. 16, 2016, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference for allpurposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to washing machines, and moreparticularly, to detergent containers on washing machines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, a drum type washing machine washes laundry by rotating adrum with washing water mixed with detergent and/or other additives. Itoffers the advantages of high efficiency in water and detergent usage,reduced laundry entanglement and reduced laundry damage.

A drum type washing machine may include a cabinet serving as an exteriorhousing, a tub disposed inside the cabinet and configured to containwashing water, a drum disposed inside the tub and configured toaccommodate washing objects (e.g., laundry), a motor configured to driverotation of the drum, a water supply device configured to supply washingwater to the tub, a detergent tray configured to store one or moreadditives (including liquid or powder detergent, fabric softener, etc.),a detergent supply pipe configured to supply the additives into the tub,a drying system configured to supply a hot air flow to dry the washingobjects, and a water drain device configured to drain the washing waterto the outside of the cabinet.

In a conventional washing machine, a detergent tray can be pulled outtoward the front side of the cabinet for a user to load detergent orother additives. A detergent tray of this drawer-like configurationusually is designed in a very limited capacity. Accordingly, a user hasto load detergent each time before laundry, which is cumbersome.

Thus, a large capacity detergent tray that can contain enough detergentfor multiple uses is desirable. According to an existing design, a largecapacity detergent tray spans the width of a cabinet and has an areaabout half of a top surface of the cabinet. The tray is disposed in theupper portion of the cabinet. However, due to the large size of the trayas well as the substantial weight of the additive to be containedtherein, it is difficult to securely affix the detergent tray to thecabinet with high reliability. Especially, vibration generated in thewashing process can cause the affixation between the large tray and thecabinet to become loose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a mechanism for securelyand reliably affixing a large capacity detergent tray to a washingmachine.

In accordance with one embodiment, a washing machine includes a cabinetconfigured to form an outer shell of the washing machine, a tubinstalled within the cabinet, a drum rotatably installed inside the tub,a detergent tray installed in an upper portion of the cabinet, and adrying duct assembly disposed above the tub to provide hot air into awashing space form inside the tub. The detergent tray includes a housingconfigured to store detergent, a support bracket installed in aperiphery portion of the housing, and a plurality of fixing membersconfigured to fix the support bracket to the cabinet and the drying ductassembly.

The support bracket is configured to support the housing on the cabinetand the drying duct assembly at the front, rear, left and right sides ofthe housing.

The support bracket may include a first support piece, a second supportpiece, a third support piece and a fourth support piece. The firstsupport piece is disposed in a front periphery portion of the housing sothat the first support piece is fixed to a front frame of the cabinet.The second support piece is disposed in one lateral periphery portion ofthe housing so that the second support piece is fixed to one side frameof the cabinet. The third support piece is disposed in the other lateralperiphery portion of the housing so that the third support piece isfixed to the other side frame of the cabinet. The fourth support pieceis disposed in a rear periphery portion of the housing so that thefourth support piece is fixed to a blower fan of the drying ductassembly.

The drying duct assembly may include a drying duct configured to guidean air flow toward the tub, a heater unit configured to heat air insidethe drying duct, and a blower fan configured to circulate hot airthrough the tub.

The detergent tray may further include a mounting recess, a storagecompartment, and a storage cover. The mounting recess is formed at oneside of the housing so that a detergent box configured to store a liquidadditive is mounted to the mounting recess. The storage compartment isprovided at the other side of the housing to store powder detergent. Thestorage cover is configured to form a portion of a top plate of thecabinet and hingedly coupled to the housing to open or close themounting recess and the storage compartment.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the sides of alarge-capacity detergent tray are securely and reliably affixed to thecabinet and the drying duct assembly. This affixation mechanism canadvantageously withstand vibration generated during washing/dryingoperations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary washing machine accordingto one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the exemplary washing machineaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a plane view of the washing machine including an exemplarylarge capacity detergent tray according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the exemplary detergent trayaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates the exemplary detergent tray in an uncovered state.

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the exemplary detergent trayaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The illustrativeembodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claimsare not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, andother changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe subject matter presented here.

One or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which one or more exemplary embodiments of the disclosurecan be readily determined by those skilled in the art. As those skilledin the art will realize, the described exemplary embodiments may bemodified in various different ways, all without departing from thespirit or scope of the present disclosure, which is not limited to theexemplary embodiments described herein.

It is noted that the drawings are schematic and are not necessarilydimensionally illustrated. Relative sizes and proportions of parts inthe drawings may be exaggerated or reduced in size, and a predeterminedsize is just exemplary and not limiting. The same reference numeralsdesignate the same structures, elements, or parts illustrated in two ormore drawings in order to exhibit similar characteristics.

The exemplary drawings of the present disclosure illustrate idealexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in more detail. As aresult, various modifications of the drawings are expected. Accordingly,the exemplary embodiments are not limited to a specific form of theillustrated region, and for example, include modifications of form dueto manufacturing.

The configuration and operation according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary washing machine accordingto one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a side sectionalview of the exemplary washing machine according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 3 is a plane view of the washing machineincluding an exemplary large capacity detergent tray according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a front perspective viewof the exemplary detergent tray according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates the exemplary detergent tray inan uncovered state. FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the exemplarydetergent tray according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

It will be appreciated that a detergent tray according to the presentdisclosure can be used to contain any type of additives suitable forwashing operations, e.g., liquid or power detergent, fabric softener,etc.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, a detergent tray 100 according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure includes a housing 110, a supportbracket 120, a plurality of fastening members 130, a mounting recess112, a storage compartment 150 and a storage cover 111.

Specifically, the housing 110 may be disposed in an upper portion of acabinet 10 of a washing machine, e.g., on the top of the washing machineabove the tub 20, the drying duct assembly 50 and the like.

The housing 110 may provide a large volume for containing additives. Thehousing 110 may have a length substantially the same as a width of thecabinet 10. The housing may take up half of the top area of the cabinet10.

Generally speaking, a large volume of the detergent tray may introduceproduct design complications. For example, the layout of componentsinside the cabinet 10 needs to be modified accordingly. It may not beeasy to securely affix the housing 110 to the upper portion of thecabinet. Conventionally, the housing 110 is primarily affixed to, andsupported by, the frame of the cabinet 10. However, for a housing 110with a large volume, it may be difficult to fit the housing 110 in closeproximity to the frame of the cabinet 10 such that a side of the housingcan be affixed to the frame.

According to the present disclosure, in addition to the frame of thecabinet 10, a drying duct assembly 50 is also used to support thehousing 110. The support bracket 120 for fastening the housing 110 tothe cabinet 10 and the drying duct assembly 50 may be located in therespective periphery portions (or side walls) of the housing 110.

The support bracket 120 may include a first support piece 121, a secondsupport piece 122, a third support piece 123 and a fourth support piece124, which are respectively installed in the front, rear, left and rightperiphery portions of the housing 110. The support pieces 121-124 maysupport the housing 110 on the cabinet 10 and the drying duct assembly50 through the front, rear left and right sides of the housing 110.

For example, the first support piece 121 may be provided in a frontperiphery portion 110 a of the housing 110 so that the first supportpiece 121 is fastened to a front frame 11 of the cabinet 10. The secondand the third support piece 122 and 123 may be disposed in oppositelateral periphery portions 110 b of the housing 110 so that the secondand the third support piece 122 are fastened to opposite side frames 12of the cabinet 10, respectively. The fourth support piece 124 may beprovided in a rear periphery portion 110 d of the housing 110 so thatthe fourth support piece 124 is fastened to a blower fan 51 of thedrying duct assembly 50.

The fastening members 130 can fasten the support bracket 120 to thecabinet 10 and the drying duct assembly 50. Various types of fastenerbolts, fastener nuts and the like may be used as the fastening members130 for purposes of practicing the present disclosure.

The mounting recess 112 receives a detergent container 140, and may beformed at one side of the housing 110. The detergent container 140 maybe removably mounted to the mounting recess 112 and may be used to storeone or more liquid additives, for example, liquid detergent and fabricsoftener.

The storage compartment 150 can be used to store one or more powderadditives, e.g., powder detergent and the like. The storage compartment150 may be disposed at the other side of the housing 110. Washing watermay be supplied to the storage compartment 150 to carry the powderdetergent to the tub 20, e.g., when a washing operation is started.

The storage cover 111 covers the detergent tray 100, including themounting recess 112 and the storage compartment 150. The storage cover111 may be hingedly coupled to the housing 110. The storage cover 111may be biased by a spring (not shown) to cover the housing 110. In thisconfiguration, if a user releases the storage cover 111 after openingthe storage cover 111, the storage cover 111 may be automatically closedunder the elastic force of the spring.

The storage cover 111 may be formed as part of the top plate of thecabinet 10 and the storage cover 111 is disposed on the upper surface ofthe cabinet 10. When the storage cover 111 is opened, a user can load aliquid additive to the liquid box 140 and/or a powder additive to thestorage compartment 150.

The washing machine according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure may include a cabinet 10, a tub 20, a drum 30, a detergenttray 100, and a drying duct assembly 50. The washing machine may be adrum type and washes washing objects by rotating the drum 30. However, awashing machine according to the present disclosure is not limited toany specific type.

More specifically, the cabinet 10 is an outer case enclosing variouscomponents of the washing machine, e.g., the tub 20, the drum 30 and thelike. The detergent tray 100 may be installed in the upper portion ofthe cabinet 10.

The washing machine may also include a detergent supply pipe 40 coupledbetween the detergent tray 100 and the tub 20 for transporting detergentfrom the detergent tray 100 to the tub 20, a motor 90 configured todrive the rotation of the drum 30, a water supply device 70 configuredto supply washing water into the tub 20, and a drain device 80configured to drain washing water to the outside of the cabinet 10.

The tub 20 may have a cylindrical structure and may be used to containwashing water during washing operations. The tub may be horizontallydisposed within the cabinet 10. The tub 20 may receive detergent fromthe detergent tray 100 and the detergent box 140, receive washing waterfrom the water supply device 70 and drain the washing water to theoutside of the cabinet 10 through the drain device 80.

The drum 30 may be rotatably installed in the tub 20. Through rotationof the drum 30, washing objects in the drum are stirred and washed bywashing water mixed with additives supplied into the tub 20.

The detergent tray 100 may have a large capacity for additives. Asdescribed above, the detergent tray 100 is installed in the upperportion of the cabinet 10 and opens toward the upper side of the cabinet10. In this case, the cover 111 of the detergent tray 100 may be aportion of the top plate of the cabinet 10.

The drying duct assembly 50 may include a drying duct configured toguide an air flow toward the tub 20, a heater unit 53 configured to heatair flowing in the drying duct 52, and a blower fan 51 configured tofacilitate circulation of hot air through the tub 20.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the sides of alarge-capacity detergent tray are securely and reliably affixed to boththe cabinet and the drying duct assembly. This affixation mechanism canadvantageously withstand vibration generated during washing/dryingoperations.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are describedabove with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in theart will understand that the present disclosure may be implemented invarious ways without changing the necessary features or the spirit ofthe present disclosure.

Therefore, it should be understood that the exemplary embodimentsdescribed above are not limiting, but only an example in all respects.The scope of the present disclosure is expressed by claims below and itshould be construed that all changes and modifications achieved from themeanings and scope of claims and equivalent concepts are included in thescope of the present disclosure.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments ofthe present disclosure have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, and that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Theexemplary embodiments disclosed in the specification of the presentdisclosure do not limit the present disclosure. The scope of the presentdisclosure will be interpreted by the claims below, and it will beconstrued that all techniques within the scope equivalent thereto belongto the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A washing machine comprising: a tub configured tocontain washing water; a cabinet accommodating the tub; a drying ductassembly configured to supply an air flow to the tub in a dryingprocess; and a detergent tray configured to contain an additive andaffixed to both the cabinet and the drying duct assembly through aplurality of fastening members.
 2. The washing machine of claim 1,wherein the detergent tray is disposed in an upper portion of thecabinet.
 3. The washing machine of claim 1 further comprising arotatable drum configured to contain washing objects.
 4. The washingmachine of claim 1, wherein the detergent tray comprises: a housing; anda support bracket coupled to a periphery portion of the housing, whereinthe plurality of fastening members are configured to fasten the supportbracket to the cabinet and the drying duct assembly.
 5. The washingmachine of claim 4, wherein the support bracket is configured to couplethe housing onto the cabinet and onto the drying duct assembly throughfront, rear, left and right sides of the housing.
 6. The washing machineof claim 5, wherein the support bracket comprises: a first support piecethrough which a front periphery portion of the housing is coupled to afront frame of the cabinet; a second and a third support piece throughwhich opposite lateral periphery portions of the housing are coupled toopposite side frames of the cabinet, respectively; and a fourth supportpiece through which a rear periphery portion of the housing is coupledto a blower fan of the drying duct assembly.
 7. The washing machine ofclaim 1, wherein the drying duct assembly comprises: a drying ductconfigured to guide an air flow toward the tub; a heater unit configuredto heat air flowing in the drying duct; and a blower fan configured todrive air circulation through the tub.
 8. The washing machine of claim7, wherein the drying duct is disposed above the tub.
 9. The washingmachine of claim 1, wherein an area of the detergent tray isapproximately half of a top surface area of the cabinet.
 10. The washingmachine of claim 1, wherein the detergent tray further comprises: amounting recess formed at one side of the housing and configured toreceive a detergent container; a storage compartment disposed at a sideof the housing; and a cover hingedly coupled to the housing andconfigured to cover the mounting recess and the storage compartment. 11.A detergent tray for a washing machine, the detergent tray comprising: ahousing; a support bracket disposed in a side of the housing and affixedto the housing; and a plurality of fastening members configured tofasten the support bracket to both a cabinet of the washing machine anda drying duct assembly of the washing machine.
 12. The detergent tray ofclaim 11, wherein the support bracket is configured to couple thehousing to the cabinet and the drying duct assembly through front, rear,left and right sides of the housing.
 13. The detergent tray of claim 12,wherein the support bracket is configured to couple the housing to aframe of the cabinet.
 14. The detergent tray of claim 12, wherein thesupport bracket is configured to couple the housing to a fan of thedrying duct assembly.
 15. The detergent tray of claim 12, wherein thesupport bracket comprises: a first support piece through which a frontperiphery portion of the housing is affixed to a front frame of thecabinet; a second and a third support piece through which oppositelateral periphery portions of the housing are affixed to opposite sideframes of the cabinet, respectively; and a fourth support piece throughwhich a rear periphery portion of the housing is affixed to a blower fanof the drying duct assembly.
 16. The detergent tray of claim 11 furthercomprising: a mounting recess formed at one side of the housing andconfigured to receive a detergent container; a storage compartmentdisposed at a side of the housing; and a cover hingedly coupled to thehousing and configured to cover the mounting recess and the storagecompartment.
 17. The detergent tray of claim 11, wherein an area of thedetergent tray is approximately half of a top surface area of thewashing machine.